by John Hartsell Today, Donald J. Trump becomes the President of the United States and thus, his team will begin the work of our federal government. In reference to Medical Marijuana programs across the country, our new POTUS has been less than forthcoming on his intended approach wavering from a state’s rights position to cabinet appointments which indicate potential programmatic interruptions at the state level.In their own words:In reference to medical and adult-use cannabis, President Donald Trump told Bill O’Reilly that, “In Colorado, the book isn’t written on it yet, but there is a lot of difficulty in terms of illness and what’s going on with the brain and the mind and what it’s doing. So, you know, it’s coming out probably over the next year or so. It’s going to come out.”U.S. Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions said, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” And he said, “We need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized…that it is, in fact, a very real danger.”Vice President Mike Pence, in response to reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession, said, “I think we need to focus on reducing crime, not reducing penalties.”Though a quote was not readily available for Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price, his actions speak louder than words:

Going against a measure that would prevent the Justice Department from interfering with state recreational marijuana laws.

Attorney General who may be America’s most staunch opponent of legal marijuana

Secretary of Health and Human Services which consistently receives grades of “D” and lower from marijuana advocacy groups

Each of these positions is uniquely important to the cannabis industry and patient access to medical marijuana. President Trump will set the tone for the foregoing legal cannabis movement which has attained significant progress during the past decade. With more than half the country’s states with some form of legal cannabis, the federal government now has the opportunity to mainstream the newly situated industry in the United States’ economic culture.